Roza turned from me leaving me wanting more, but I knew she was playing her part. She swayed her hips as she approached the table of Strigoi, giving them a wink as she passed by. Thankfully they bought it with little consideration to their lives, of course, if Roza was offering herself to me like that, I wouldn't care about the lasting consequences either.
The entire table, all five of them, were practically shoving each other out of the way in an attempt to get to Roza. She worked her way over to the bar where three of them approached her. From her body language and theirs, I could tell she was both disgusted and successful in her attempts to seduce, not that I had any doubts about her abilities.
I pushed through the side door of the club and waited patiently for Roza to emerge, the Strigoi in tow. I felt her disgust grow and a cold sensation worked its way up my arm and another up my thigh.
Those monsters were touching my Roza!
"I'm fine, Comrade. I'll be out soon." I heard her quiet voice reach me. I loosened my grip on my stake and leaned against the wall opposite the door.
I felt more hands on her, and my grip steadily tightened around the cool metal. By the time I felt her drawing near, my Light was pooling around my feet as I fed off the elation coming from the club.
The Darkness seeped out of the cracks in the doorway seconds before Roza stumbled out into the alleyway, feigning intoxication. She used her left hand to swing around the door holding it open as five nasty looking Strigoi followed her with their gazes transfixed on the exotic beauty.
The next thing they knew was my stake was through one of their hearts and another's head was rolling on the ground. Roza swung her sword through the air a few times as the other three, rather slowly, began to understand what situation they'd just walked into.
"Dhampirs!" One of them hissed as Roza worked to back them further into the alleyway. Her Darkness and my Light tangled together as I stepped up beside her. I transferred my stake to my left hand and pulled my Khopesh from its scabbard on my back.
"Hello, boys," Roza said sweetly. Now that they'd seen through her façade, they seemed less inclined to view her as sexy and instead looked upon her with malice. "I don't suppose you'd tell me where the majority of you are staying, would you?"
"Over our dead bodies." One growled baring his teeth.
"Careful what you ask for," I said smirking. I threw the stake up in the air causing it to flip a few times before the tip landed safely in my palm. I drew my arm back and sent the stake sailing through the air between us and straight into the heart of the one who'd growled at Roza.
"I'll give you two more tries," Roza said in the same sweet voice as she slowly began moving closer to the two remaining Strigoi. "Are there more of you nearby?"
"We have our own hunting grounds, bitch, of course there are more of us. We've got a few more guys back at our base, we never go out all at once. We usually bring back something for the others to snack on." The older of the two Strigoi answered kicking his dead companion's body out of the way. "Sadly, you've impeded on our turf long enough. We're going to have to put an end to this intrusion."
"Is that so?" Roza chuckled. Her Darkness swirled up and threaded through her fingers. I chuckled as the Strigoi paused in their once determined attack as they stared wide-eyed at the sentient smoke
"What the hell are you?"
"I am the Darkness," Roza responded before leaping toward the frozen Strigoi. The Darkness held them in place as her Khopesh worked its magic.
"That was a little cheesy, Roza," I informed as she sheathed her sword. She shrugged before pulling her phone out of her bra, most likely to send a text to Sydney for cleanup.
She bent down to retrieve my stake from the chest cavity of the dead Strigoi and wiped it on his shirt before replacing it next to hers in her thigh strap.
"That was hot," I mumbled sheathing my sword. "So, there are more of them that operate around here. We've got to clear this 'hunting ground' before we move to the next. If we clear this club, it will be a while before more Strigoi try to take the place over."
"Only what they don't know is that it will have been completely clean for a while before they got there." Roza finished.
"Right, but we'll still need to keep an eye on the place," I said tensing as the alleyway door opened. I relaxed as I saw Christopher step out with his stake raised. "It's all clear out here, guys."
Jasper stepped through the opening next and took a quick look around before gesturing for Sydney to come out too. All three of them looked like they'd been dancing non-stop since entering the club, and from the makeup that had been smeared all over Jasper's face, I could assume that Sydney was getting along just fine.
"You guys were busy," Christopher said squatting down to inspect the bodies before Sydney got rid of all evidence.
"Some of us had to be." Roza teased throwing in an eye roll for added effect. "Turns out the Strigoi that live in the city are a lot more organized than I thought. They've got designated hunting grounds. Dimitri and I are going to canvas the place to see if we can find where the rest of them are hiding so we can clear this territory before moving to the next."
"Are you sure you two can handle it?" Christopher asked.
"We'll be fine." I chuckled as Roza tangled her fingers with mine.
"I'm sure one of us will be able to call you if we need back up," Roza said pulling me down the alleyway and out into the street. There were several people still trying to get into the club, but Roza skipped past them all as they continued to stare at her.
We were both laughing as she twirled her way down the street as I followed faithfully behind her. I knew we didn't feel anything on the way here so we could rule that direction out. We, and by 'we' I mean Roza, twirled our way up and down the streets of New York City hoping to find even the slightest clue as to where Strigoi were hiding.
We didn't find anything nauseating, but Roza did feel something.
"It's so fearful here." She mumbled after she stopped abruptly. I gripped her hips to steady myself as I ran into her.
"Fearful?" I asked looking around. We'd strayed off the beaten path and were in a more residential area. There weren't many streetlights on the block, but there was enough light dotted here and there to see everything clearly with our enhanced vision.
"Definitely fear." She said quietly rolling her head back. "It's almost intoxicating. There's so much power just for my taking."
She pressed her body closer to me, her head leaning back on my shoulder. My arms wrapped around her waist as her elation started seeping into me. Her happiness fueled me while the fear surrounding us fueled her. Her happiness was the most satisfying thing I'd ever felt.
"Where's the fear coming from?" I whispered in her ear.
"It's all around us, but I don't know what's causing it." She moaned drawing in even more of the fear.
"Roza, no need to overdo it. Slow down and take what you need." I instruct siphoning off some of her excess emotions.
"Right, sorry." She said shaking her head. "Let's keep walking and see if we can find the source of the fear."
I only nodded and nudged her forward, keeping a hand on her waist to make sure she was steady enough on her feet. We didn't have to walk very far before the nauseating feeling started creeping in.
"I think we're heading in the right direction," I mumbled pulling her back slightly to remain close to me. She released a sigh of slight annoyance but complied with my protective nature.
The further we walked down the block the more unsettled our stomachs became. Roza placed a hand on my chest to halt our forward movement. When I looked down at her, she turned to face me and raised her leg up to my hip.
I raised an eyebrow at the strangely placed behavior, but she gave me an annoyed and pointed look. I quickly caught on and slipped my hand under her skirt to retrieve our stakes. I passed one stake to her as she pulled out her Khopesh before quickly pulling my own.
We basically followed our stomachs as they led us closer to the Strigoi. The horrible feeling led us to an extremely abandoned looking warehouse. I could see light coming from inside so there must be some 'living' occupants.
I looked toward Roza in confirmation after we found an open door. She nodded in agreeance, and I pulled the door open with force. There were several Strigoi that were just lounging around on ratty old couches, and they all jumped up as we walked in.
I was a little tense, but Roza was relaxed and confident as she immediately drew all the attention. I took the opportunity to fan out to her left where the majority of the Strigoi were. It surprised me that they didn't immediately start attacking, and instead stood there with their shocked expressions.
"Now, I like to think myself knowledgeable on most things Strigoi hideout related, but don't you think you should be attacking or something?" Roza asked with a smirk.
"The two of you? You think you're a challenge to us?" Laughed one. He seemed to have been the one left behind tonight, even though, by the looks of it, he was prepared to go out clubbing.
"That's hurtful." Roza quipped placing the hand that held her stake over her heart. I couldn't help but chuckle which drew a little attention to myself, but as Roza continued to circle around the large room she drew all the attention away from myself.
"Please, something as small as you couldn't possibly take on all of us, but you'll make a decent snack." Another Strigoi answered with a scoff.
I saw anger flash in Roza's eyes before the look turned to amusement. She continued a leisurely pace while the Strigoi moved closer together. Her hips swayed in a provocative manner, and I had to force back several growls as each Strigoi took their time eyeing her.
Roza didn't respond to the last Strigoi's comment and instead continued to twirl her stake and Khopesh in her hands. When Roza was directly across the room from me her eyes snapped up to meet mine. My grip tightened around my weapons as Roza allowed the Darkness to seep out of her.
I stifled a laugh as the Strigoi took a startled step away from her. The black tendrils of her Darkness slowly crept forward at a non-threatening pace. The Strigoi watching in amazement as the smoke drew nearer to them, but they didn't make a move to flee from it.
I allowed my Light to escape in its need to match Roza's Darkness. Her eyes remained firmly on mine as her tentacles spiraled their way up the legs of the Strigoi, lulling them into a false sense of security.
The Strigoi swayed slightly as if in a daze as Roza's sweet voice sounded again.
"Do you still think I can't take you on?" She asked. If I didn't know her game, I'd probably be in the same trace as the Strigoi. I remember what it felt like being controlled by her. It was intoxicating, she was intoxicating.
I snaked my Light around a few of the Strigoi, and they instantly seized. Neither Darkness or Light had penetrated them yet, but they knew what was coming, though they did not seem to care.
"How many nests are there around the city?" Roza asked stepping closer to the Strigoi and myself.
"There are probably half a dozen in each borough." One responded in a breathless sigh.
"How many Strigoi would you say are in each nest?"
"We're one of the larger ones, so probably between ten and fifteen, no more than thirty." A different one answered.
"Where's the nearest nest to here?" Came her next question.
"A few blocks east, there are about ten newly awakened trying to make it on their own." It was unnerving to hear the dreamy tone each Strigoi used to answer Roza's questions. They all sounded as infatuated with her as I was.
"How do you recruit?" Roza asked attempting to raise an eyebrow.
"If we find a lone Strigoi in our hunting ground, we give them the option to join us or we kill them." Came the response.
"Are you the ones causing the overwhelming fear in the surrounding neighborhoods?" Came Roza's final question.
"Yes."
With each question and answer, Roza got closer to them. She was now within sword's reach, and they still hadn't moved an inch. Something flashed in her eyes right before she impaled the Strigoi that I'd also wrapped prompting me to do the same.
When our respective tendrils retracted, the bodies of the Strigoi fell to the ground with soft thuds. The remaining Strigoi radiated fear, but they still didn't move.
"I underestimated you, Huntress." The flashy Strigoi commented, his voice lacking the dreamy tone that it once held.
"For monsters like you, it usually only happens once." She said sweetly before taking his head. She released the other Strigoi from her Darkness, and they immediately started attacking.
I never understood why Strigoi never tried to run, why they always had to fight. Even in my time as a Strigoi, I didn't understand it. I guess something in them just demanded the fight no matter what.
Most of the Strigoi went after Roza considering only two really surveyed their surroundings before charging into a fight. Those two Strigoi charged me, assuming that I was the biggest threat.
Roza had two lying dead at her feet before the two Strigoi that were charging me got within swinging distance. I watched from the corner of my eye as Roza toyed with the last four. I could practically hear her giggling as she ducked and dodged without retaliation.
That's another thing Strigoi loved, I remember distinctly from my time that I was particularly fond it also: the chase. Killing was easy, it was the tracking and the fight that was truly exhilarating.
I'd staked one Strigoi without blinking an eye and halted the other with my Light so I could watch Roza skip around the room as these monsters chased her. She'd gone to the furthest point in the room, backing herself into a corner.
Without warning, Roza charged toward the group and leapt over them in a single bound. She landed a safe distance behind them and started running toward me. She sent out her Darkness to finish off the Strigoi in my possession and came to a halt beside me.
She gave me a wink before focusing her attention back on the Strigoi that had finally figured out where she'd gone.
"Come on, Comrade, aren't you having fun?" She asked in a giddy tone.
"I think you're just having too much fun, Roza." I chuckled keeping my eyes on the charging Strigoi. As I had done earlier in the night, Roza launched a stake into the heart of one of the creatures with a resounding thud, but the others paid no mind to their fallen companion.
The first of the remaining three started by throwing a punch at Roza. I didn't take to kindly to his attack so I sliced the arm that had thrown the punch off. His scream of agony was promptly ended when my stake entered his heart from behind.
"How chivalrous of you," Roza muttered as she blocked a punch thrown by the second attacking Strigoi. The last Strigoi targeted me. He seemed to be the smartest Strigoi in the building as he didn't attack immediately.
He started circling me, trying to wedge himself in between Roza and me, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I decided to follow Roza's lead and have some fun. I quickly sheathed my Khopesh and switched my stake to my right hand. The Strigoi gained some confidence when I limited myself to my stake.
He leapt forward with bared fangs. My fist slammed right into his nose which sent his own blood gushing down his face. He howled in pain and clutched his nose in his hands. I heard another crack as he set his rapidly healing nose back into place.
The vicious growl told me that he was about to make several mistakes. The first being the act of revenge. He'd let his anger at my action cloud his judgment. The second mistake was becoming unaware of his surroundings. Roza was smirking as she positioned herself behind the distracted Strigoi.
The third and final mistake was attacking me. I don't say this to sound cocky, but Roza was right behind a Strigoi that was attacking me. If she thought my protectiveness when it came to her was intense, she obviously didn't consider her own protectiveness over me to be equal or greater in intensity.
Before the Strigoi could do more than remove his hands from his face, Roza wrapped an arm around the Strigoi's neck, effectively putting the creature in a headlock. She gave me a wink that prompted me to slam my stake into the chest of the struggling Strigoi.
She quickly released the lifeless corpse and stared up at me with a dazzling smile.
"What?" I asked narrowing my eyes in suspicion.
"You were having fun." She said, the smile remaining firm on her face. I rolled my eyes and started toward the door we'd come through.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text to Sydney with our location. I also sent a text to Kyle so he would know where he was going before Sydney could inform him, but I also told him to stay vigilant. We'd killed the Strigoi at the club and the ones that had remained in their compound, but we didn't know if there were any more Strigoi that had gone out tonight or if they'd be back.
I didn't hear Roza following me, and when I turned to see what she was doing, I found that she was walking slowly around the room observing the bodies of the dead. She'd sheathed her Khopesh and retrieved her stake, but she hadn't holstered it yet.
"What's wrong, Roza?" I asked after a few quiet minutes of observing her actions. With each body she passed, the frown on her face grew deeper.
"It's harder now." She whispered. I didn't say anything, knowing that if I gave her enough time, she'd go on without prompting. "Killing them is easy, but knowing there is a way to save them, to give them back what they'd lost, it makes living with it harder. I don't feel as bad as I used to because I know what they're capable of in this state, but it doesn't make it easier."
"I'm so sorry, Roza," I whispered walking over to her and wrapping her in my arms. It was my fault that she knew all too well what the Strigoi was capable of, but I felt the exact opposite of what she was feeling. "I can't say that I feel bad, or worse, after what I've been through. You know what I did, but you never had to live this life and come back from it."
"Nothing you did as a Strigoi was your fault, Comrade," Roza mumbled against my chest.
"I know that thanks to you, but that doesn't make it easier knowing what I did when I was possessed by the devil. I'm grateful for what you did for me, but not everyone has you to get them through that transformation. You're the only reason I made it through. You've no idea what these men went through in their time as a Strigoi. You could have saved them by turning them back, but you also saved them by setting them free." I consoled wrapping my arms even tighter around her.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She said finally.
"I'm sorry for the things I did as a Strigoi. I'm not just talking about what I did to you, but everything I did. I know, I know. I didn't have control of myself, but that doesn't mean I don't still feel bad about it, but I'm done blaming myself. You saved me, and you saved them."
I pulled back to look down at her. She had tears threatening to spill from her eyes as I cupped her face in my hands. I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She raised herself on her toes to deepen the kiss, but it was soon interrupted by the most obnoxious member of our party.
"Wow, you guys have been busy. However, I think you should wait to get busier for when you get home." Roza pulled back with a sigh.
"It's nice to see you, too, Christopher." She mumbled turning to the newly arrived trio. Sydney looked around at the bodies with a slightly impressed expression but didn't say anything as she set to work.
"Are you ready to go home, Roza?" I whispered in her ear and was rewarded with a moan.
"Ready when you are." She answered practically pulling me out of the building. "See you guys at home!"
"I'm sure we will," Jasper mumbled sticking close to Sydney.
I ignored him and the smirk Christopher was sending my way and followed Roza back to Sasha. I was more than ready to get Roza back home, and I could tell she was ready to be there, too.